NyShaun’s passion pours into my healthcare advocate vocation at all levels.

My mom taught me to value education and she always encouraged my siblings and me to take the baton to the next step.

As the manager of Neighborhood Economic Development for Centerstate CEO, I have a front-row seat to witness the making of Black history in Central New York.

Group of individuals standing together

The Community Foundation recently distributed a new round of grants from its Black Equity & Excellence Fund. Grants from the fund support Black-led nonprofit organizations and projects that counteract systemic racism. Fourteen grants were distributed, totaling $248,000. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Black Equity & Excellence Fund allowed for optimization of UrbanTsyr online content with professionally enhanced videos and marketing of various initiatives.

Through the generous support of the Community Foundation’s Black Equity & Excellence Fund we produced, in April and July, two high-quality, main stage productions that were recorded and streamed.

Knowing that initiatives such as the BE&E Fund believes in your vision helps wounds become assets and lessens the ability for scars to become triggers.

Graphic image of faces for Black Equity & Excellence Fund

A policy paper outlines our rationale for investing intentionally and publicly in the support and celebration of Black members of our community.

For Black History Month, we chose to highlight two of our Black Equity & Excellence Fund grantees that were named after historical figures: The William Herbert Johnson Bar Association of CNY and the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company.

Martin Luther King Junior March on Washington

The Young, Black, and Giving Back Institute established this day to elevate Black nonprofits that are committing themselves, day-in and day-out, to improving and enhancing the lives of Black people in this nation.